POULTNEY, VT (Feb. 20, 2008) – Green Mountain College welcomes Dr. Fran Bagenal, a professor of astrophysical and planetary sciences at the University of Colorado, Boulder, for the sophomore lecture on Tuesday, February 26.

Her talk, entitled “Voyages to the Outer Solar System,” begins at 6:30 p.m. in the Gorge.

Dr. Bagenal will discuss how three decades of robotic emissaries have been opening up new vistas to the outer solar system: These spacecraft have shown us the violent weather systems of the giant planets and have revealed their large moons to be diverse worlds. Tuesday’s talk will also highlight how telescopic observations have opened a new frontier of planetary objects beyond the giant planets.

Other topics include highlights from recent space missions, and expectations for upcoming missions, in particular the New Horizons mission scheduled for 2015. This spacecraft is slated to take the first close-up pictures of Pluto and its moons.

Dr. Bagenal’s visit is sponsored by the American Astronomical Society. It is free and open to the public.

For more information, contact the Green Mountain College Office of Communications at 802-287-8311.